Obituary for Karen M. (Moran) Smolin

Karen M. Smolin, 75, died peacefully at home in Boxborough, MA on Monday, February 12, 2018. Daughter of the late Elliott J. Moran and Marion E. (Scheidell) Moran of Jeffersonville, NY, Karen is survived by her husband Lewis M. Smolin of Boxborough, MA, daughter Jill H. Davis of Pawtucket, RI, son Elliott C. Davis, and his wife Eden (Dench) of Chacala, Mexico, grandchildren Auralia and Finnegan Davis of Chacala, Mexico, and brother Thomas R. Moran of Clarksville, GA. She is preceeded in death by her brother Elliott P. Moran.

Karen left the Catskill mountain village of her youth to study at Boston University’s School of Education, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1964. Although she spent the remainder of her life in the metro-Boston area, save a brief stint in Denver, CO, Karen never forgot her roots or her family, titling a speech she gave at a niece’s high school graduation ”Thank God I’m a Country Girl.” A resident of Weston, MA from 1966-1991, Karen may have left her job teaching at Waltham High School when she became a mother in 1969, but she certainly did not stop working. Karen was involved in the METCO program which brought integration to the Weston public schools, the local League of Women Voters where she was the chairwoman for the “Know Your Town” handbook in 1976, the Picture Lady program which brought fine art reproductions into school classrooms, and many other organizations concerned with the arts, environment, and education. In the 1980’s Karen returned to her alma mater to earn a Master’s degree, and subsequently joined the budding world of technology as a top saleswoman for Sherman Howe Computer Centers, an early Apple retailer. Her successful career in technology sales continued until she retired from Tech Data in 2001.

A true ‘life-long-learner’, Karen returned to school yet again: eagerly signing up for a course in wildlife tracking, as well as earning a certificate in Gerontology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Retirement also provided Karen with time to pursue her passions for travel, gardening, music, and the arts. Living in Boxborough, MA from 1995 until her death, Karen was a charter member of the Boxborough Conservation Trust, served as chairwoman of the Council on Aging, and was an active member of the Garden Club, and the “Top of the Hill’ book club.

A private gathering will be held before Karen’s ashes are interred in Jeffersonville, NY. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the Sargent Memorial Library Foundation, 427 Massachusetts Avenue, Boxborough, MA 01719. Memorial page www.actonfuneralhome.com